Divisions exposed as Sunday vote gives far-right chance to tighten grip in Germany
In eastern Germany, anti-far-right protestors are worried.
“Nazis out,” they shout as a long line winds its way down the street.
The far-right is rising in the state of Thuringia and, for the first time since the Second World War, an extreme-right party is expected to win the most seats in the state parliament when people vote on Sunday.
Crowds on the street to protest against the far-right
Bjorn Hocke and far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is on track to get about 30% of the vote.
It’s also polling high in Saxony and Brandenburg, which are both holding elections in September.
“I came today because there is a fascist danger in Germany… it’s spreading all over the world, in Europe especially and in Germany,” says protester Jurgen.
“We are here to set a sign against the fascist danger.”
Jurgen came out against the rise of the far-right
I ask his friend Monika why she thinks the AfD has grown in popularity.
“They [the public] are very angry about the government, and they think they can protest against the government by voting for the AfD,” she said.
Anti-immigration, Russia-friendly, Eurosceptic Hocke has been labelled a fascist and the Thuringia branch of the AfD has been classed as extreme by state security services, but supporters believe they are Germany’s future.
At the final campaign rally before the polls open in Erfurt, Hocke is received like a rock star.
People gathered at the AfD rally. Pic: Reuters
He gets numerous rounds of applause as he addresses the crowd.
From the stage he shouts out slogans like “Germany first”, a catchphrase adapted from another populist’s playbook.
“The AfD is the only party that does something for the people,” says Martin who is among the crowd.
Immigration, crime, the economy – people list the perceived failings of the federal government as reasons why they are supporting the AfD.
Some believe the AfD is the only party serving Germany
Earlier this year, Hocke was found guilty of using a banned Nazi slogan employed by Hilter’s stormtroopers.
I ask a mother at the rally if she thinks he is an extremist and dangerous?
“No, he’s okay, it’s propaganda,” she replies.
It’s the same at every AfD event I’ve been to.
But that’s not the only reason why what people say here sounds familiar – whether it’s concerns over immigration, worries about the cost of living or a feeling of being forgotten by mainstream politicians, the issues helping to fuel the far-right in Germany are similar to the issues fuelling it across Europe.
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The arrest of an asylum seeker over last week’s fatal knife attack in Soligen has bolstered the AfD’s anti-immigration stance.
Their closest competitors the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have also taken a harder line on asylum seekers and migration as they fight for votes.
They’re acutely aware dissatisfaction feeds the far-right.
“Unrest within society leads to a much faster increase in populists on the far-left and far-right and this altogether formulates a magical formula for a very unstable political situation,” says Mario Voigt, the CDU’s candidate in Thuringia.
While the AfD isn’t likely to get enough support to gain full control of the parliament in Thuringia, Sunday’s vote has again highlighted the deepening divisions in society and increased opponents’ fears the far-right is strengthening its grip in Germany.
This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media.
The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.
“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’
It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.
He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.
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The bunker buster bomb which could destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions
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Nuclear sites targeted in Iran
There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.
It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.
His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.
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Trump: ‘I want an end, not a ceasefire’
This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.
Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.
These are truly tense and chaotic times.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
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